A continuation of the lecture transcription/ working out of idea for Boskone that I started in the previous post. There’s a greater chance that I say something stupid about quantum measurement in this part, but you’ll have to look below the fold to find out…
Category: Physics
Notes Toward “Weird Quantum Phenomenon”
I’m teaching our sophomore-level modern physics course this term, which goes by the title “Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, and Their Applications.” The first mid-term was a couple of weeks ago, on Relativity (special, not general), and the second mid-term is tomorrow, on Quantum Mechanics, and then we get three weeks of applications (basically, whatever topics out… Continue reading Notes Toward “Weird Quantum Phenomenon”
Top Eleven: Rudolf Moessbauer
The penultimate experiment in the Top Eleven brings us up to the first nominee who’s still with us.. Who: Rudolf Moessbauer (1929-present) (that’s Mössbauer with a heavy-metal ö), a German physicist. (The Wikipedia link is for consistency with the other posts, but contains very little information. A better bio is available from the Nobel Prize… Continue reading Top Eleven: Rudolf Moessbauer
Top Eleven: Edwin Hubble
The next experiment in the Top Eleven is a set of observations, not an experiment. Who: Edwin Hubble (1889-1953), an American astronomer, and the guy the Hubble Space Telescope is named after. When: He was nominated for two related but different discoveries which were announced in 1924 and 1929. What: Hubble’s most famous work concerns… Continue reading Top Eleven: Edwin Hubble
We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us
In a comment to the AP post, “hogeb” asks an excellent question about pedagogy: I’d like to enlist your advise and the advise of any readers who can provide it. I teach physical science to pre-service elementary school teachers. I try to elucidate the somewhat subtle differences between the application of a force and the… Continue reading We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us
Advanced Placement: Threat or Menace?
Kevin Drum reports receiving an email from a professor of physics denouncing the Advanced Placement test in Physics: It is the very apotheosis of “a mile wide and an inch deep.” They cover everything in the mighty Giancoli tome that sits unread on my bookshelf, all 1500 pages of it. They have seen not only… Continue reading Advanced Placement: Threat or Menace?
Top Eleven: Ernest Rutherford
The eighth of the Top Eleven is an experiment by the man who set the gold standard for arrogance in physics. Who: Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937), a New Zealand-born physicist who famously declared “In science, there is only physics. All the rest is stamp collecting.” He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1908. When:… Continue reading Top Eleven: Ernest Rutherford
Physics Blog Notes
There was an article about physics blogs a little while back in Physics World, that didn’t mention me by name, but did link to the Steelypips site. It mostly talks up the informal information exchange side of things. In that spirit, here are some things I found via physics blog (mostly through Mixed States (after… Continue reading Physics Blog Notes
Top Eleven: Heinrich Hertz
The seventh entry in the Top Eleven is an experiment that leads directly to all forms of wireless communications. Who: Heinrich Rudolf Hertz (1857-1894), a German physicist. When: 1886 What: Hertz studied electromagnetism, and in particular, the prediction from Maxwell’s Equations that it ought to be possible for electromagnetic waves to travel through free space.… Continue reading Top Eleven: Heinrich Hertz
Shoot the Hostage
(Because, as anybody knows, that’s the answer to “Pop Quiz, Hotshot”…) The answer to the pop quiz posted below is “v.” That is, the speed is unchanged between the start of the problem and the collision between the ball and the pole. There are several ways to see this– conservation of energy is my usual… Continue reading Shoot the Hostage